Gardening tool wtih prongs and blade member

ABSTRACT

A gardening tool including an elongate handle and a head portion. The head portion includes a receiving means for receiving an end of the handle. A curved blade member extends outwardly from the receiving means. A pronged portion also extends outwardly from the receiving means and generally oppositely to the blade member. The pronged portion has three prongs spaced apart and generally in parallel. Each prong has a bifurcated pointed tip for assisting in engaging soil and vegetation.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a gardening tool, such as a hand-heldor hand-operated gardening tool for assisting in establishing,cultivating and maintaining gardens and garden beds. The gardening toolis intended particularly but not exclusively for removing weeds andunwanted lawn grass runners from garden beds.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Hand-held and hand-operated tools for performing basic gardening taskssuch as weeding or cultivation of gardens and garden beds are known.However, it is often the case that a number of different implements needto be used for the overall maintenance and cultivation of such gardens.In addition, those implements that are available are often not effectivein easily removing weeds, grass runners and other unwanted vegetationfrom garden beds. Further, it has been recognised that some knowngardening implements can lead to strains or general discomfort in theperson using the implement. This can be due, for example, to thenecessity of having to bend down or kneel onto the garden or adjacentthe garden in order to use the implement and complete the task at hand.

The present invention attempts to overcome at least in part theaforementioned disadvantages of previous hand-held garden tools andimplements used in garden and garden bed cultivation and maintenance.

References to prior art in this specification are provided forillustrative purposes only and are not to be taken as an admission thatsuch prior art is part of the common general knowledge in Australia orelsewhere.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provideda gardening tool, comprising an elongate handle and a head portion, thehead portion comprising:

-   a receiving means for receiving an end of the elongate handle;-   a blade member extending outwardly from the receiving means, wherein    a width of the blade member decreases and the blade member curves as    the blade member extends outwardly; and-   a pronged portion extending outwardly from the receiving means and    generally oppositely to the blade member, wherein the pronged    portion has at least two prongs spaced apart and generally in    parallel, and each prong has a bifurcated pointed tip for assisting    in engaging soil and vegetation.

The blade member preferably has a generally hooked shape and terminatesin a pointed tip to assist in penetration of soil by the blade member.The blade member preferably extends outwardly and curves through anangle of about 30° to 70° to the handle. More preferably, the blademember curves through an angle of about 60° to the handle.

The blade member preferably has a curved cutting edge but may have aserrated edge for ripping soil and vegetation.

The prong members preferably extend outwardly through an angle of about30° to 70° to a longitudinal axis of the handle. More preferably, theprong members extend outwardly through an angle of about 60° to thelongitudinal axis of the handle.

The bifurcated pointed tip preferably defines a fork having at least twotines. The tines of each fork preferably diverge from each other as theprongs extend outwardly. The bifurcated pointed tip preferably formsbetween about one quarter and one third of the length of the prong.

Preferably the tool has two to five prongs. In a most preferred form,the tool has three prongs.

Throughout the specification, unless the context requires otherwise, theword “comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, willbe understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group ofintegers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group ofintegers. Likewise the word “preferably” or variations such as“preferred”, will be understood to imply that a stated integer or groupof integers is desirable but not essential to the working of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The nature of the invention will be better understood from the followingdetailed description of preferred embodiments of the gardening tool ofthe invention, as well as the best method of performing the inventionknown to the inventor, given by way of example only, with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a portion of a gardening tool in accordancewith a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the tool of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of a gardening tool inaccordance with a second embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is perspective view of the gardening tool of FIG. 3 in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a gardening tool 10 for usein garden and garden bed cultivation and maintenance activities, such asweeding. The tool 10 includes an elongate handle 12 attached to a headportion 14. In the embodiment shown, the handle 12 is arranged generallyperpendicularly to the head portion 14. The elongate handle 12 comprisesa long shaft, having a length that permits a user of the tool 10 toremain substantially upright whilst engaging the head portion 14 of thetool 10 with earth or ground in use. The shaft is rigid and may becomprised of any sturdy and resilient material, such as wood, metal, orpolymeric plastic such as polyethylene or poly propylene. Preferably,the shaft is made of a material that is able to withstand a substantialamount of outdoors exposure.

The elongate handle 12 is attached at one end 13 to the head portion 14by a receiving means. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, thereceiving means comprises a generally tubular collar 32 having adiameter that is of a size adapted to snugly receive the end 13 of thehandle 12. The handle 12 may be simply fitted within the collar 32 ormay be further secured with a retaining means (not shown) such as a pin,bolt or other fastener, which passes through the collar 32 and thehandle 12. Alternatively, the handle 12 may be connected to the collar32 by means of a screw threaded connection (not shown).

The head portion 14 further includes a blade member 16, extendinglaterally outwardly from the collar 32. Preferably, the blade member 16has a width that decreases as it extends outwardly. The blade member 16is also preferably curved, terminating in a pointed tip 20. Preferably,the blade member 16 is curved through an angle of between about 30° and70° to the handle 12, and preferably at an angle of about 60° to thehandle 12 as can be seen in FIG. 1. The angle of 60° to the handle isbelieved to offer the best effect of the blade member 16 in use. Theblade member 16 thus has a generally hooked or arcuate shape, having acurved cutting edge 18, as can be seen in FIG. 1. This hooked shape withthe pointed tip 20 permits ready penetration of the blade member 16 intoground or soil.

The curved cutting edge 18 may be a sharp blade edge, as shown in FIG.1, which is able to slice through ground and vegetation and act as aneffective shredder and scarifier. Alternatively, the curved cutting edge18 may be serrated (not shown), so as to provide more of a ripping,rather than slicing action.

The head portion 14 further includes a pronged portion 22 extendingoutwardly from adjacent the end 13 of the handle 12 and in a directiongenerally opposite to that of the blade member 16. The pronged portion22 includes three prongs 24, spaced apart and substantially parallel toeach other. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the prongs 24 extendoutwardly from the collar 32 and diverge as they extend outwards. Thepronged portion 22 may have two or more prongs 24 but three prongs 24gives the best effect in use of this part of the tool 10. It ispreferred that the tool 10 has no more than a total of five prongs.

Each prong 24 extends and pitches outwardly through an angle of betweenabout 30° and 70° to the handle 12, and preferably at an angle of about60° as shown in FIG. 1. Each prong 24 may be slightly curved as itextends outwardly, as shown in FIG. 1.

Each prong 24 has a bifurcated pointed tip 26, defining a fork 34 withat least two tines 36 with a space 30 therebetween. As shown in FIG. 2,the tines 36 of each fork 34 diverge from each other as they extendoutwardly.

The forks 34 are thus arranged to engage with a root or stem of a weedor other such vegetation in use, so as to enable the weed to be pulledupwardly and out of the soil. In this way, the tool is effective inclawing and grabbing the roots of weeds and invasive unwanted grassrunners, such as Cooch and buffalo grasses, from garden beds.

In the first embodiment as shown in FIG. 2, the bifurcated pointed tip26 is formed about two-thirds of the way down the length of the prong 24so that the tip 26 defines about one third of the length prong.

Optionally, the head portion 14 is further provided with a plate member28, arranged adjacent an outermost surface of the head portion 14. Theplate member 28 may be provided so as to bind the collar 32, prongedportion 22 and blade member 16 of the head portion 14 together or simplyto provide added reinforcement and strength to the head portion 14 as awhole.

In use, the handle 12 is grasped by an operator, typically adjacent anend furthest from the end 13 received by the collar 32 and also at apoint intermediate along the shaft of the handle 12. The head portion 14may be positioned such that the point 20 of the blade member 16 pointsgenerally towards the ground. The point 20 can then be caused topenetrate the ground by a downwards action, manipulated by the handle12.

The blade 18 is then caused to slice or rip through ground and anyvegetation by a generally back and forth motion, similar to the actionused when manipulating a known ordinary garden hoe.

If it is desired to break up soil or engage and rip weeds or othervegetation from the soil, the head portion 14 is positioned such thatthe pronged portion 22 points generally towards the ground. The forks 34of each prong 24 enter the ground and the tines 36 assist in theengagement of roots or stems of weeds or other such vegetation.

Upon pulling the head portion 14 generally upwards by manipulation ofthe handle 12, the vegetation so engaged between the forks 34 can bepulled outwardly of the soil.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 resembles the first embodiment inmany respects and the second embodiment will therefore only be describedin brief detail. The gardening tool 40 of the second embodiment includesan elongate handle 42 attached to a head portion 44. The handle 42 isarranged generally perpendicularly to the head portion 44.

The elongate handle 42 comprises a long shaft, having a length thatpermits a user of the tool 40 to remain substantially upright whilstengaging the head portion 44 of the tool 40 with ground 72 in use as canbest be seen in FIG. 4.

The elongate handle 42 is attached at one end 43 to the head portion 44by a receiving means. The receiving means comprises a generally tubularcollar 62 having a diameter that is of a size adapted to snugly receivethe end 43 of the handle 42. The handle 42 may be simply fitted withinthe collar 62 or may be further secured with a retaining means (notshown) such as a pin, bolt or other fastener, which passes through thecollar 62 and the handle 42.

The head portion 44 further includes a blade member 46, extendinglaterally outwardly from the collar 62, terminating in a pointed tip 50.The blade member 46 is curved through an angle of about 60° to thehandle 42. The blade member 46 has a generally hooked or arcuate shape,with a curved cutting edge 48. The curved cutting edge 48 may be a sharpblade edge or may be serrated (not shown).

The head portion 44 further includes a pronged portion 52 with threeprongs 54, spaced apart and substantially parallel to each other. Eachprong 54 extends and pitches outwardly through an angle of about 60° .Each prong 54 may be slightly curved as it extends outwardly, as shownin FIG. 3.

Each prong 54 has a bifurcated pointed tip 56, defining a fork 64 withat least two tines 66. The portion 60 of the prong 54 leading to thetines 66 is curved as can be seen in FIG. 3 which allows ease of contactwith the soil and vegetation. In the second embodiment as shown in FIG.3, the bifurcated pointed tip 56 is formed about three-quarters of theway down the length of the prong 54 so that the tip forms about onequarter of the length of the prong.

The head portion 14 has a plate member 28, arranged adjacent anoutermost surface of the head portion 44. The plate member 58 binds thecollar 62, pronged portion 52 and blade member 46 of the head portion 44together and adds reinforcement and strength to the head portion 44 as awhole.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, in use the handle 42 is grasped by an operator70 using a first hand 78, adjacent an end 74 furthest from the end 43and with a second hand 80 at a point 76 intermediate along the shaft ofthe handle 42. Use of the tool 40 in this way allows the operator 70 toremain in a comfortable posture and without having to bend the back orknees. The tool could of course also be used by an operator in a sittingposition, for example if the operator is disabled and unable to stand.The head portion 44 may be positioned such that the point 50 of theblade member 46 points generally towards the ground. The point 50 canthen be caused to penetrate the ground by a downwards action,manipulated by the handle 42.

Modifications and variations as would be apparent to a skilled addresseeare deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.

Now that several embodiments of the invention have been described indetail it will be apparent that the gardening tool in accordance withthe invention provides a number of advantages over the prior art,including the following:

-   (i) It provides for a single tool which is versatile and can be used    in a number of different ways for various gardening activities.-   (ii) It has particular application for removing weeds and lawn    runners from garden beds due to the bifurcated prongs which readily    remove the roots of these unwanted plants, which is often difficult    to achieve with other garden tools.-   (ii) It allows gardening work to be undertaken in a comfortable    posture thereby minimising the risk of injury to the user.-   (iii) The design of the tool allows it to be easily used by the    elderly and disabled since the device may be used from a comfortable    standing or sitting position.-   (iv) The tool can be manufactured to suit different soil and garden    conditions for example by varying the number of prongs.

It will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the relevant arts thatvarious modifications and improvements may be made to the foregoingembodiments, in addition to those already described, without departingfrom the basic inventive concepts of the present invention. Thedescribed examples are given for illustrative purposes only andtherefore it will be appreciated that the scope of the invention is notlimited to the specific embodiments described.

1. A gardening tool, including an elongate handle and a head portion,the head portion comprising: a receiver receiving an end of the elongatehandle; a blade member extending outwardly from the receiving means,wherein a width of the blade member decreases and the blade membercurves as the blade member extends outwardly; and a pronged portionextending outwardly from the receiver and generally oppositely to theblade member, wherein the pronged portion has at least two prongs spacedapart and generally in parallel, and each prong has a bifurcated pointedtip.
 2. A gardening tool according to claim 1, wherein the blade memberhas a hooked shape and terminates in a pointed tip.
 3. A gardening toolaccording to claim 1, wherein the blade member extends outwardly andcurves through an angle in a range of 30° to 70° to the handle.
 4. Agardening tool according to claim 3, wherein the blade member curvesthrough an angle of substantially 60° to the handle.
 5. A gardening toolaccording to claim 1, wherein the blade member has a curved cuttingedge.
 6. A gardening tool according to claim 1, wherein the blade memberhas a serrated edge.
 7. A gardening tool according to claim 1, whereinthe prong members extend outwardly through an angle in a range of 30° to70° to a longitudinal axis of the handle.
 8. A gardening tool accordingto claim 7, wherein the prong members extend outwardly through an angleof substantially 60° to the longitudinal axis of the handle.
 9. Agardening tool according to claim 1, wherein the bifurcated pointed tipdefines a fork having at least two tines.
 10. A gardening tool accordingto claim 9, wherein the tines of each fork diverge from each other asthe prongs extend outwardly.
 11. A gardening tool according to claim 1,wherein the tool has two to five prongs.
 12. A gardening tool accordingto claim 11, wherein the tool has three prongs.
 13. A gardening toolaccording to claim 1, wherein the bifurcated pointed tip forms betweenabout one quarter and one third of the length of each prong. 14.(canceled)
 15. A head of a gardening tool comprising: a mount to receivean end of a handle of the gardening tool. a blade extending outwardlyfrom the mount in a first direction substantially perpendicular to thehandle, wherein a width of the blade decreases and the blade curves asthe blade extends outwardly from the mount; and an assembly of prongsextending outwardly from the mount in a second direction substantiallyopposite to the first direction, wherein the assembly of prongs includesa plurality of prongs each having a bifurcated pointed tip.
 16. The headof claim 15 wherein the width of the blade is parallel to the handle ofthe gardening tool.
 17. The head of claim 15 wherein the wherein theblade curves through angles in a range of 30° to 70° to the handle. 18.The head of claim 15 wherein the prongs in the assembly of prongsinclude a shaft extending outwardly from the mount to the bifurcatedpointed tip.
 19. The head of claim 15 wherein the blade member extendsoutwardly and curves through angles in a range of 30° to 70° to thehandle.
 20. A head of a gardening tool comprising: a mount including acylindrical collar to receive an end of a handle of the gardening tool.a blade affixed to the collar and extending outwardly from the mount ina first direction perpendicular to the handle, wherein the blade curvesthrough angles in a range of 30 degrees to 70 degrees to the handle asthe blade extends outwardly from the mount, the blade is parallel to thehandle and a width of the blade narrows as the blade extends outwardlyfrom the mount; and prongs extending outwardly from the mount in asecond direction opposite to the first direction, wherein each of theprongs includes a shaft affixed at one end to the collar and having anopposite end forming a bifurcated pointed .